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Gaming handhelds have been popular for several decades now, rising to prominence with the original Nintendo Game Boy. I still remember getting my first Game Boy in the mid-1990s, back before they had backlights and I had to play Pokémon Red up against the window of my mom’s Pontiac LeMans using street lights for illumination. Naturally, handheld consoles have made significant advances in recent years, as has gaming in general. If I were to show my young self what Cyberpunk 2077 running with path tracing on my GTX 4080 looks like, she would probably think I’m from outer space.

Graphical presentation and gameplay scope have broadened so significantly with modern technology that some modern games can be indistinguishable from real life at a glance. Of course, that generally applies to monster PCs, but what about mobile stuff? Like, for instance, what if you wanted to replace desktop gaming with a Steam Deck, or even a Nintendo Switch 2?

Technically speaking, sure, you can run a handheld like a gaming PC, in terms of your general gaming library. But the specs and versatility levels of handheld consoles are vastly inferior to a dedicated desktop or even a laptop, which feature their own pros and cons versus handhelds. Which is best for you isn’t a decision to be made in a vacuum. Each setup suits different needs better or worse, and it’s your job to weigh which will benefit your experience the most. Let’s discuss it in greater detail and talk about why one or the other is better for you, from someone who’s owned many examples of both system archetypes over the past three decades.

Gaming handheld: Less horsepower, more convenience

The most obvious point in favor of handheld consoles is their mobility. Of course, that’s afforded by the battery, which will get you through most commutes, though games that take more horsepower to run will deplete your battery faster, and different systems will feature different battery lives. For example, the Switch 2 running its most taxing games can last just under two hours, though the graphics are nonetheless impressive for the hardware.

Speaking of hardware, don’t expect miracles, but also don’t expect PSP-levels of fidelity. My Steam Deck, for instance, features a 1280×800 screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and performance specs fairly comparable to last-gen consoles, according to general opinions, taking the 4K resolution out of the equation. That said, don’t expect to squeeze current-gen levels of performance; my Steam Deck gets its doors blown off by even my Xbox Series S. The Switch 2 represents a graphical upgrade, though it’s still nowhere near on par with my custom gaming rig.

Lastly, there’s the gaming library. I like a Steam Deck because you can access your Steam account and all the games it features, plus it has dedicated emulation capability for retro games, where graphical horsepower isn’t a concern. Similarly, the Switch 2 offers its own library of titles not normally found on PC. Excellent alternatives like the Asus ROG Ally X demonstrate 1080p 120Hz refresh displays if that’s more your speed, though in my experience, the difference between 800p and 1080p when you’re riding a train is fairly negligible; I went with the cheaper Steam Deck, but your mileage may vary.

Desktop PC: Versatility and performance at a price

If you want the best versatility, performance, and longevity, you’re looking at a desktop PC, without question. Of course, all that power comes at a cost. In my case, quite literally, as I collectively spent more on my rig than I did on purchasing a used Volkswagen Super Beetle. However, because of their nature, gaming PCs feature virtually unlimited variations because of the plethora of parts. My current PC features probably about $2000 in parts, and it’ll play almost anything at 4K resolution with a consistent 60 FPS minimum. Obviously, that’s far more than a PS5, much less a Steam Deck, which starts at $399 in 2025. But the trade-off is the versatility you get with an actual computer. And that’s not factoring in the possibilities of going DIY versus a pre-built rig.

The way I look at it is a matter of necessity. As a career writer, I work from home and enjoy the benefits offered by a high-end DIY desktop PC that I know will last many years. It provides job security, as well as an outlet for a hobby of mine. In that way, I see the expense as an investment. However, that purpose will never be replaced by a gaming handheld, unless you’re talking about a laptop. Whether they’re worth the price is still debated on forums to this day, but they’re not upgradeable like desktops. Therefore, they lack that level of versatility — if my rig has a bottleneck, I can replace a part rather than the whole thing, which saves money in the long term. Ultimately, what works for you is dependent on those three factors: your budget, gaming requirements with library and graphics, and versatility needs.